The ever-increasing popularity of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for both military and civilian applications has created a need for increased autonomy in the deployment of UAVs in the field. Recent years have seen a significant increase in the capabilities of small (<150 kg) Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs. At the same time, these vehicles have become more accessible and less expensive. Despite the rapid growth, there have been few solutions offered to address the problem of launching and recovering UAVs without human intervention. One of the difficulties associated with VTOL aircraft is that they cannot land safely on slopped or uneven terrain. This is primarily due to the physics of rotorcraft UAVs in which the thrust force is always perpendicular to the landing gear; if the vehicle is oriented to match an uneven landing surface, the vehicle may not be able to maintain flight. Additionally, when the landing surface is uneven, there is a higher chance of touching the ground with one of the rotors, causing catastrophic failure of the vehicle. While a fixed-wing aircraft can operate on a sloped landing strip by taking off traveling down the slope and land while traveling back up the slope, VTOL aircraft cannot.